Rene Rivera | Catcher

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Rays and C Rene Rivera avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.

He can earn $200,000 more through incentives. Rivera had a mini-breakout for the Padres in 2014 and is set to serve as the Rays' regular catcher after arriving in Tampa in last month's three-team trade. Jan 16 - 1:50 PM

Rivera has been a journeyman for much of his career but thrived when given a real shot at playing time in 2014, batting .252/.319/.432 with 11 homers while drawing rave reviews for his pitch-framing and defense. He seems unlikely to repeat his year offensively, but Rivera will be the primary catcher for the Rays. Fri, Dec 19, 2014 12:41:00 PM

Rene Rivera went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a win over the Giants on Sunday.

Rivera had an RBI groundout in the sixth inning, adding a run-scoring single in the seventh as well. Rivera has four RBI over his last two games, giving him 40 RBI on the year. He's moved into an everyday role with Yasmani Grandal manning first base, and Rivera is hitting .252/.319/.431 on the season. Sun, Sep 21, 2014 10:26:00 PM

Cleanup hitter Rene Rivera hit his 10th homer Friday to lead the Padres to a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rivera was 5-for-30 with two RBI in 10 games this month before his solo shot tonight. The homer off Vidal Nuno was his sixth in 89 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this year. He has four in 163 at-bats against right-handed pitching, which is why he's still hitting lower in the order versus righties. Sat, Sep 13, 2014 01:54:00 AM

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Rivera has been a journeyman for much of his career but thrived when given a real shot at playing time in 2014, batting .252/.319/.432 with 11 homers while drawing rave reviews for his pitch-framing and defense. He seems unlikely to repeat his year offensively, but Rivera will be the primary catcher for the Rays.

Rene Rivera went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a win over the Giants on Sunday.

Rivera had an RBI groundout in the sixth inning, adding a run-scoring single in the seventh as well. Rivera has four RBI over his last two games, giving him 40 RBI on the year. He's moved into an everyday role with Yasmani Grandal manning first base, and Rivera is hitting .252/.319/.431 on the season.

Cleanup hitter Rene Rivera hit his 10th homer Friday to lead the Padres to a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rivera was 5-for-30 with two RBI in 10 games this month before his solo shot tonight. The homer off Vidal Nuno was his sixth in 89 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this year. He has four in 163 at-bats against right-handed pitching, which is why he's still hitting lower in the order versus righties.

Rene Rivera had a great night at the dish, going 3-for-5 with a solo home run and a two-run single in Thursday's win against the Cubs.

Rivera entered the night having logged just one hit in his last 17 plate appearances, so he busted out of the slump in a big way. He took Edwin Jackson deep for a solo shot in the fifth inning, then singled to right to drive in two in the sixth. Rivera has done well in the power department, but hasn't done much else, slashing .228/.286/.436 with seven home runs and 26 RBI on the season.

Rivera's blast got the scoring going in the second inning, but that's the only run the Padres could muster in their weak four-hit effort. While he's hitting just .225 this season, Rivera has provided some sock with five longballs.

Rene Rivera connected for a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Mets.

His two-run blast off Bartolo Colon in the second inning was the only offense of the evening for San Diego. Rivera now has four home runs on the year, which puts him just two behind Yasmani Grandal and Seth Smith for the team lead. It's sad state of affairs for the Padres.

Rene Rivera went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rockies.

Rivera went deep off of Juan Nicasio in the sixth inning, his third homer of the season. He also threw out three would-be base-stealers on the afternoon. Rivera hasn't played a whole lot, but when he has, he has contributed, now slashing .275/.302/.529 in 54 plate appearances.

Rene Rivera went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.

With Yasmani Grandal starting at first base against the left-handed Wade Miley, Rivera took advantage of the starting opportunity. Rivera's two-run double in the fourth inning tied the game, and his ninth-inning double put Cameron Maybin at third in advance of Yonder Alonso's RBI fielder's choice. Rivera is getting a decent amount of playing time because of his defense, but he's not going to hit enough to warrant being carried in fantasy leagues.

Rene Rivera had the game of his life in Monday's 6-4 win against the Giants, going 2-for-5 with a double, home run and five RBI.

Per Baseball Reference's MLB play index, Rivera, who debuted in 2004, had 18.5% of his career RBI this evening (5 of 27). Baseball Prospectus contributor and Padres blogger Geoff Young passed along that the third-string catcher's five RBI were the most by a Padres' backstop since Ramon Hernandez accumulated seven on September 27, 2005. Rivera, the owner of a career .524 OPS, had seven RBI total last year. This will never happen again.

The 30-year-old is devoting his time and effort in Major League camp to working with the pitchers rather than focusing on competition for a roster spot. As long as Yasmani Grandal is healthy enough to begin the regular season with the team, Rivera is likely slated for Triple-A.

The Padres are expected to promote Rene Rivera from Triple-A Tucson on Sunday in the wake of the severe knee injury suffered Saturday by Yasmani Grandal.

Rivera will function in a reserve role, with Nick Hundley expected to assume the primary catching duties for the Padres. Rivera, who hasn't played in the big leagues since 2011, was hitting .343/.382/.474 with five homers and 38 RBI on the season at Triple-A.

He also gets a spring training invite. Rivera, 29, batted .226/.307/.385 with 10 homers and a .693 OPS in 95 games with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate this past season. He'll function as organizational depth.

Moore, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery threw all fastballs during the session. He threw his changeup on flat ground on Monday, so it's likely just a matter of time before he incorporates the pitch into his bullpen sessions. The young left-hander is currently on track for a return around June.

McGee is currently working his way back from arthroscopic surgery in December to remove a loose body from his elbow. He's slowly progressing with his throwing program and the Rays expect him to begin the season on the disabled list, but he could be ready by late April or early May if all goes well.